Hung Yi (洪易) is one of Taiwan’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, who had long committed himself to enameled steel sculpture creations. He also had a dream of establishing a steel sculpture gallery of his own. To fulfill his dream, he looked for locations in various places to construct a steel sculpture museum to exhibit the works he has created over the years.
About four years ago, Hung Yi finally purchased an abandoned rice hulling mill adjacent to an apartment building along with the rice paddies in front of the building in southern Taiwan’s Changhua County, which is a location close to his hometown in Taichung City.
Please watch the following video of the Hung Yi’s interesting enameled steel sculpture gallery in Taiwan.
After nearly four years of renovation and preparation, the Hung Yi Art Gallery (洪易美術館) was inaugurated on February 21, 2020, at 2:20 p.m., because Hung regards the number 20 as a particularly meaningful figure to his artistic career.
In 2000, Hung first set up his art studio at a long-vacant warehouse called “the Stock 20” near Taichung Railway Station. With his wholehearted devotion to art created over the past 20 years, not only has Hung become a highly acclaimed artist, but his dream of having his own steel sculpture gallery was also realized in 2020.
As a result, he picked the above-mentioned date and time as the auspicious moment to inaugurate his steel sculpture gallery. Witnessed by some 200 guests including many politicians and other celebrities from Taiwan’s artistic and academic circles, the grand opening ceremony was held on the manicured lawn in front of the gallery, with great fanfare of lion dance and Chinese drum performances.
The steel sculpture gallery
Covering an area of over 3,300 square meters (0.8 acres), the steel sculpture gallery has displayed about 40 pieces of his striking steel sculptures. Some are exhibited indoors; others are displayed on the top of the roof or patios; still, others are scattered on the lawn in front of the building. To let more people have the opportunity to appreciate Hung’s unique creation, the gallery is open to the public for free on an advance reservation basis.
Once running a bubble milk tea shop with nine outlets in the 1990s, Hung Yi is, in fact, a self-taught artist. Drawing inspiration from the real world around him, he employs childlike design, vibrant colors, as well as patterns and symbols of the popular grassroots Taiwanese culture to create a distinct style featuring exaggerated and playful animals.
His sculptures have been extensively exhibited across Taiwan, including museums of fine arts, concert halls, international airports, train stations, metro stations, prominent office buildings, elementary schools, universities, and various public urban squares. Moreover, Hung Yi has been invited to exhibit his artworks in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Italy, China, and Hong Kong.
Emphasizing that “with beautiful dreams comes art creations (有夢最美，藝術相隨),” Hung Yi said his dream now is to have his works exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, along with other world-class museums. To materialize that dream, he would endeavor to create more significant sculptures to contribute to society and the international community as a whole in the next 20 years.
